Coming off of their third consecutive trip to the Elite Eight, Rick Barnes and the Tennessee Volunteers have hit the college basketball transfer portal hard this summer and another significant change could be coming.
On3.com's Joe Tipton wrote Friday that he would give the Volunteers "the edge" in the fight to remove VCU guard Terrence Hill Jr. from the portal.
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The 6-foot-3 Hill arrived in Knoxville earlier this week and is staying for a long time. That's what happened to Tennessee's four current commits — Miles Rubin, Dai Dai Ames, Jalen Harrelson and Tyler Lundblad, who all attended the program at the end of their official visits.
The Kansas Jayhawks and Oklahoma Sooners have also been linked to the VCU transfer. However, Tipton says it "does not seem likely" Hill will travel to Norman.
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On3 and Rivals.com ranked Hill as the 24th-best player and eighth-best guard in the college basketball transfer portal this offseason. Jeff Borzello of ESPN ranked him the 21st best player available.
"Hill undoubtedly boosted his stock with his performance against North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. He led VCU to a 19-point comeback and upset victory with 34 points, five rebounds and five assists. He earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors last season after averaging 15.0 points while shooting 37% from 3."
ESPN's Jeff Borzello defends Terrence Hill Jr.
In his final season with VCU, the 20-year-old emerged as one of the biggest breakout stars outside of the Power 4 conferences. He earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors and was named Atlantic 10 Tournament MVP, Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year and the conference's Most Improved Player.
In his final 15 games with the program, he averaged 15.7 points, 3.1 assists and 3 rebounds per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field. Hill also played a key role in VCU's conference title, averaging 17.3 ppg, and in the first round win over the North Carolina Tar Heels where he scored 34 points on 23 shots in an 82–78 overtime win.
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With Barnes looking to add more scoring ahead of next season, Hill will certainly help in that regard. He also provides perimeter shooting – 2.3 three-pointers per game at 37 percent – for a team that ranks 296th nationally in three-pointers made per game (6.6) and 208th in three-point percentage (33.4 percent).
